How To Dress For Your Engagement or Couples Session
It’s always a little intimidating to have your picture taken... even if it’s just a photo on an iPhone that is taken by a friend. We want to look nice, make sure nothing is in our teeth and that our hair is behaving! And that's just on your average Wednesday. I realize that preparing for your engagement session can be a little more overwhelming. In this post, I’ll be providing tips for outfits, handling nerves and recommendations that will make your shoot the best it can possibly be!
The very first thing I always tell my couples is that, “It’s Impossible For You To Mess This Up.” And yes - it’s in all caps for a reason. Read that sentence, take a breath, and then read it again.
The Before: Picking an Outfit
Believe it or not, you have so much control over the outcome of your shoot and what it looks and feels like. What you choose to wear is a big decision that often causes some stress for our couples beforehand. However, my hope is that with a little education, you will be able to determine the style and feel you desire for your shoot which will make your outfit selection so much easier and less complicated.
Maybe you want one outfit to be dressy and the other to be casual. Maybe you want one outfit to be very light and neutral but you want to wear more color in the next outfit. There are no right or wrong answers as long as you feel comfortable in what you’re wearing during your shoot. If you’re feeling stuck and can’t seem to determine what you prefer, that’s very normal, and one reason why I give my couples my cell number. Text me outfits! Let’s talk about it together.
When browsing through your closet for the perfect outfit, here are some things to avoid:
1. Bright Neons (they reflect color onto skin and can be difficult to edit!)
2. Patterns smaller than a quarter: Tiny patterns cause something called “Chromatic Aberration” or “Moire” in digital images. Men’s checkered shirts are fine if the “checks” are on the larger side. Have you seen men’s ties on TV do the weird wavy thing and make your eyes go crazy? That’s what I’m talking about.
3. Matchy-Matchy: If one of you is wearing very dark jeans, the other may want to wear lighter pants. If one of you is wearing a navy top, the other could try lighter shades of blue. To a certain degree, alternating the “shades” of your outfits can make your images look more balanced.
4. Avoid one of you being casual while the other is more dressy: This can look a bit awkward in your photos.
5. Other things to avoid: T-shirts, tennis shoes, graphic tees, bold logos on shirts, sunglasses & baseball hats. Unless this is a very certain vibe you’re going for, a lot of time it won’t scream “engagement” photos that are timeless and classy. If these are things that you see yourself wearing, I’d encourage you to do an outfit change part way so we can capture both!
There are some tried and true recipes for wonderful engagement outfits too!
- Neutral Colors: Blushes, tans, light pinks, faint blues and light minty teals, creams, grays and whites will always result in more of a light and airy look in your images. These colors photograph softer and more romantically!
- Long, Flowy Skirts/Dresses: Dresses and skirts with feminine ruffles, multiple layers of fabric and the ability to blow and move in the wind will always photograph beautifully! You would be amazed at how impactful moving fabric softens an image.
- Khakis vs. Jeans: If you want your images to be as classic as possible, consider having your groom wear khaki pants or some nice dark dress pants.
- Large Patterns are Preferred: If you really want to wear a pattern, my only request is that your pattern is on the larger side. Patterns that are smaller than a quarter can be difficult to photograph. This isn’t true of all patterns but it’s a good general rule to go by!
- Only One Wears a Pattern: If one of you has a bold pattern, it’s very important that the other doesn’t. The bolder the pattern, the more important this rule becomes!
- Only One Bold Color: If you really want a bold and bright look but you want to do it well and tastefully, I would suggest that only one of you have a bright and bold colored outfit and the other stay in a solid neutral to avoid overdoing it!
- Consider Muting your Favorite Color: If you love a certain bold color and you want to include it in your outfit selection, I would recommend selecting a muted tone of this favorite color for the second partner. For example, if you love purple, instead of selecting a deep, dark and bold purple shirt for you both, you can get the purple vibes through a lavender or even a periwinkle color!
